African leopard
The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have been recorded in North Africa as well. Taxonomy Felis pardus was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition of Systema Naturae]]. His description was based on earlier descriptions by earlier naturalists such as Conrad Gessner. He assumed that the leopard occurred in India. In the 18th and 19th centuries, several naturalists described various leopard skins and skulls from Africa, including: * Felis pardus panthera proposed by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1778 based on descriptions by earlier naturalists * Felis leopardus var. melanotica by Albert Günther in 1885 from the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa * Felis leopardus suahelicus by Oscar Neumann in 1900 from the Tanganyika territory * Felis leopardus nanopardus by Oldfield Thomas in 1904 from Italian Somaliland * Felis pardus ruwenzorii by Lorenzo Camerano in 1906 from the Ruwenzori and Virunga Mountains * Felis pardus chui by Edmund Heller in 1913 from Uganda * Felis pardus iturensis by Joel Asaph Allen in 1924 from the Belgian Congo * Felis pardus reichenowi by Ángel Cabrera in 1927 from Cameroon * Panthera pardus adusta by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1927 from the Ethiopian Highlands * ''Panthera pardus adersi'' by Pocock in 1932 from Unguja Island, Zanzibar * Panthera pardus brockmani by Pocock in 1932 from Somaliland Results of genetic analyses indicate that all African leopard populations are generally closely related and represent only one subspecies, namely P. p. pardus. However, an analysis of molecular variance and pairwise fixation index of African leopard museum specimens, the results of which were published in 2017, shows differences in the ND-5 locus spanning five major haplogroups, namely in Central–Southern Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Coastal West–Central Africa, and Central–East Africa. In some cases, fixation indices showed higher diversity than for Arabian and Persian leopards in Asia. Characteristics , South Africa]] The African leopard exhibits great variation in coat color, depending on location and habitat. Coat colour varies from pale yellow to deep gold or tawny, and sometimes black, and is patterned with black rosettes while the head, lower limbs and belly are spotted with solid black. Male leopards are larger, averaging with being the maximum weight attained by a male. Females weigh about on average. The African leopard is sexually dimorphic; males are larger and heavier than females. Between 1996 and 2000, 11 adult leopards were radio-collared on Namibian farmlands. Males weighed only, and females . The heaviest known leopard weighed about , and was recorded in South West Africa. According to Alfred Edward Pease, black leopards in North Africa were similar in size to lions. An Algerian leopard killed in 1913 was reported to have measured approximately , before being skinned. Leopards inhabiting the mountains of the Cape Provinces appear physically different from leopards further north. Their average weight may be only half that of the more northerly populations, apart from the one in Somalia. Skull The skull of a West African panther, which was recorded in 1920, measured in basal length, and in breadth, and weighed . To compare, that of an Indian leopard measured in basal length, and in breadth, and weighed . Distribution and habitat and Senegal]] , Kenya]] The African leopards inhabited a wide range of habitats within Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannahs, excluding only extremely sandy desert. It is most at risk in areas of semi-desert, where scarce resources often result in conflict with nomadic farmers and their livestock. It used to occur in most of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying both rainforest and arid desert habitats. It lived in all habitats with annual rainfall above , and can penetrate areas with less than this amount of rainfall along river courses. It ranges up to , has been sighted on high slopes of the Ruwenzori and Virunga volcanoes, and observed when drinking thermal water in the Virunga National Park. It appears to be successful at adapting to altered natural habitat and settled environments in the absence of intense persecution. It has often been recorded close to major cities. But already in the 1980s, it has become rare throughout much of West Africa.Martin, R. B. and de Meulenaer, T. (1988). Survey of the status of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in sub-Saharan Africa. CITES Secretariat, Lausanne. Now, it remains patchily distributed within historical limits. During surveys in 2013, it was recorded in Gbarpolu County and Bong County in Upper Guinean forests of Liberia. Leopards are rare in northern Africa. A relict population persists in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, in forest and mountain steppe in elevations of , where the climate is temperate to cold. In 2014, a leopard was killed in the Elba Protected Area in southeastern Egypt. This was the first sighting of a leopard in the country since the 1950s. In 2016, a leopard was recorded for the first time in a semi-arid area of Yechilay in northern Ethiopia. Ecology and behavior ]] ]] Leopards are generally most active between sunset and sunrise, and kill more prey at this time. In Kruger National Park, male leopards and female leopards with cubs were more active at night than solitary females. The highest rates of daytime activity were recorded for leopards using thorn thickets during the wet season, when impala also used them. The leopard has an exceptional ability to adapt to changes in prey availability, and has a very broad diet. Small prey are taken where large ungulates are less common. The known prey of leopards ranges from dung beetles to adult elands, which can reach . In sub-Saharan Africa, at least 92 prey species have been documented in leopard scat including rodents, birds, small and large antelopes, hyraxes and hares, and arthropods. They generally focus their hunting activity on locally abundant medium-sized ungulates in the range, while opportunistically taking other prey. Average intervals between ungulate kills range from seven to 12–13 days. Leopards often hide large kills in trees, a behavior for which great strength is required. There have been several observations of leopards hauling carcasses of young giraffe, estimated to weigh up to , i.e. 2–3 times the weight of the leopard, up to into trees. In Serengeti National Park, leopards were radio-collared for the first time in the early 1970s. Their hunting at night was difficult to watch; the best time for observing them was after dawn. Of their 64 daytime hunts, only three were successful. In this woodland area, they preyed mostly on impala, both adult and young, and caught some Thomson's gazelles in the dry season. Occasionally, they successfully hunted warthog, dik-dik, reedbuck, duiker, steenbok, wildebeest and topi calves, jackal, Cape hare, guineafowl and starling. They were less successful in hunting zebras, Coke's hartebeests, giraffes, mongooses, genets, hyraxes and small birds. Scavenging from the carcasses of large animals made up a small proportion of their food. In tropical rainforest in Central Africa, their diet consists of duikers and primates. Some individual leopards have shown a strong preference for pangolins and porcupines. In the Dzanga-Sangha region in the Central African Republic, a leopard reportedly attacked and pursued a large western lowland gorilla, but did not catch it. Gorilla parts found in leopard scat indicates that the leopard either scavenged on gorilla remains or killed it. In North Africa, the leopard preys on Barbary macaques. Attacks on humans Threats ]] Throughout Africa, the major threats to leopards are habitat conversion and intense persecution, especially in retribution for real and perceived livestock loss. Upper Guinean forests in Liberia are considered a biodiversity hotspot, but have already been fragmented into two blocks. Large tracts are affected by commercial logging and mining activities, and are converted for agricultural use including large-scale oil palm plantations in concessions obtained by a foreign company. The impact of trophy hunting on populations is unclear, but may have impacts at the demographic and population level, especially when females are shot. In Tanzania, only males are allowed to be hunted, but females comprised 28.6% of 77 trophies shot between 1995 and 1998. Removing an excessively high number of males may produce a cascade of deleterious effects on the population. Although male leopards provide no parental care to cubs, the presence of the sire allows females to raise cubs with a reduced risk of infanticide by other males. There are few reliable observations of infanticide in leopards, but new males entering the population are likely to kill existing cubs.Cat Specialist Group (2005). [http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/project-o-month/02_webarchive/grafics/nov2005.pdf Cat Project of the Month – November 2005: Conservation biology of leopards (''Panthera pardus) in a fragmented landscape; spatial ecology, population biology and human threats'']. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group Analysis of leopard scats and camera trapping surveys in contiguous forest landscapes in the Congo Basin revealed a high dietary niche overlap and an exploitative competition between leopards and bushmeat hunters. With increasing proximity to settlements and concomitant human hunting pressure, leopards exploit smaller prey and occur at considerably reduced population densities. In the presence of intensive bushmeat hunting surrounding human settlements, leopards appear entirely absent. Conservation , Tanzania]] Panthera pardus is listed in CITES Appendix I. Protected areas in Africa, where leopard populations are present, include: * Etosha National Park * Lope National Park * Taï National Park * Kruger National Park See also Leopard subspecies: Arabian leopard Anatolian leopard Persian leopard Indian leopard Amur leopard Indochinese leopard Javan leopard Sri Lankan leopard * Chinese leopard * Damnatio ad bestias References External links * Species portrait African leopard; IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group * Leopards .:. wild-cat.org — Information about research and conservation of leopards * The Cape Leopard Trust, South Africa * [http://www.safarinow.com/destinations/south-africa/articles/African-Leopard.aspx Safarinow.com: African Leopard » Panthera pardus » 'Luiperd'] * [http://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/wildlife_leopard.htm South Africa Wildlife: Leopard {Panthera Pardus}] * Image of a leopard from the Central African forests of Gabon * Video of the Barbary Leopard in the wild (broken link) * Predation on a child at Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda African leopard African leopard